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September 4, 2019

checking off my checklist and Tank's landscaping debacle

Vancouver checklist: airbnb
air mattresses ready to be rolled out like a red carpet - check;
food (as in 4 dinners - portion sized to serve an army) prepared and frozen in
the freezer that I hoped would not flake out and defrost without warning again
- check, multiple runs to the mall for last minute necessities like 1. a
raincoat for Tank, 2. running shoes for the four youngest, and 3. a few
‘I need this’ and ‘she needs that’ items- check. My head was
spinning and my lists runneth over. I focused my free time on blogging -
pleased with a scheduled list of posts ready to pop up even while I was off
cheering for Curly at National Champs of Irish dancing, or busy heating up
individual portions in my hotel microwave for all the Shenanigan mouths -
check.

I began gathering groceries to be packed or to be used to cook meals prior to our departure for Vancouver.

Since I forgot about what it was
like to sleep, the day before I left, I decided to go to the pool.
Alone.Curly needed to be picked up at
Irish dancing at a far away location.I
was driving the carpool of girls home. I thought I might be able to take
a little nap while on a lounge chair poolside.I do like to catch rays, so I squeezed this into my day. Sounds
peaceful, right?

Flashback to 9 am earlier that
morning. I was organizing the food for Vancouver.There would be bags in the fridge that Coach needed to pack
into soft sided coolers and pack for Vancouver. I had my own set of cold or frozen food bags
that needed to come with me.Lots of
labels and shelves to clear to make things ultra clear.

I am reusing a caddy shot of Ed. Coach owns a Kelly green Under Armour polo. When he wears it we all do a double take and sometimes ask him if he is ready to go get a loop.

While I worked, Tank paced my kitchen.
He skipped the caddy bus that left hours ago, because he had a landscaping
job.Caddies leaving at 5:30 am while
stuffing bagels in their pie holes and practically beating the snot out of one
another over who has whose caddy towel. All this while dressed in matching Kelly green
polos and khaki shorts - it makes for a true Kodak moment. I would love to snag a pic
for the blog.Did I mention the 5:30 am
part - and the lack of smiles and giggles and posing for the camera?You will have to use your
imagination.Now, Tank paced because the
woman was not responding to his text messages.I told him in the future to text people the night before to confirm.If she was going to cancel, he could have
caddied!

I have probably mentioned my
occasional irritation with the landscaping gig vs the caddy job. Our cars
drive to the golf course in a constant loop.Adding another direction is sometimes impossible for me to swing.
Do not get me started on the landscaping gear - including two lawnmowers that clutter an already gross garage.I get that Tank is interested in
this field and that he is very industrious and entrepreneurial, but it can be
inconvenient to an already chaotic life. Not to mention, I sometimes question if he knows what he is doing. Planting trees for people? People I know! Ya follow?

Please don't judge me for my child
labor tendencies, but these kids need to make cash-ola because those college
bills don't pay themselves. You won't believe what happened next . . .

Very interesting. Tank is not at all math enabled. His biggest academic pitfall. If he continues in this path of running a landscaping business, he will probably require Reg to be his partner in order to keep the books.

I can honestly say that I do not recall a more hectic time. I am not sure why. Two different flights maybe? I didn't always used to pack so much food? Probably didn't help that most days in June I still had one baby that was coming to my house. In theory, Mini was sitting for him over the summer, but it really was mostly me in June while she was in basketball camps, etc.

I feel like caddying pays A LOT more than landscaping, no? And it seems like landscaping is a lot more work too? I know caddying well because of idiot ex-husband and current husband. My husband caddied all through high school and college and made a lot more money than I ever did.

I think caddying pays more per hour, but he does some big jobs and ends up making a bundle. I guess he likes it so much because it's his thing. I get nervous about the self taught thing. And just WAIT till you see what happens next!

My brothers and Coach used to caddy at the same place and rake in a bundle. It used to irritate me that I babysat for people while they were out golfing and my brothers made more carrying their clubs and I made SIGNIFICANTLY less CARING FOR THEIR OFFSPRING! How is that right?

About Me

Mothering 6 kids with no small feet, I trip thru life over their monster-sized mislaid shoes, their nutty antics, and my unhealed scars as a middle child. Life is messy - I'd rather write about it than clean it up.